Good Samaritans say helping was just the right thing to do

SIDEBAR: A 23-year-old woman who fought off an attacker and the Good Samaritans who came to her aid are being credited for putting a stop to the crime with their quick action.

Charis Patires

A 23-year-old woman who fought off an attacker and the Good Samaritans who came to her aid are being credited for putting a stop to the crime with their quick action.
It was just instinct, say Camdenton residents Debbie Neal and Larry Lewis, who were returning home after their shift at the Jefferson City Correctional Center.
Still in uniform, the correctional officers had pulled into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart Supercenter just before 1 a.m. Thursday when they heard a woman scream.
“At first we thought it was a young couple squabbling,” Neal said. “That is when she looked at us and screamed, ‘Get him, he’s trying to kidnap me!’”
Without a second thought, they chased after the suspect who jumped over a railing and ran into the woods.
Nearby, a Wal-Mart employee who saw the attack also began the pursuit.
Neal pulled out her cell phone to call police and report the incident.
Neal and Lewis started searching the area and at times would hear the suspect walking in the woods, she said.
The Camdenton and Linn Creek Police Departments and the Camden County Sheriff’s Department spent nearly an hour searching the woods.
Police say they found the suspect not far from the building, highly intoxicated and with minor injuries to his hands and wrists. He was checked at the hospital and released.
Neal and Lewis said they didn’t even think about helping and are glad the suspect was apprehended.
If faced with the same situation, he’d do it again, Neal said.
Camdenton Police Chief Laura Wright commended the bystanders for coming to her aid and also credit the victim for being alert and aware of her own surroundings.
Contact this reporter at charisp@lakesunleader.com.